Eric and Karissa got engaged...

...at a charming old abandoned church near Rock Rapids. Friends of the couple own the land this church sits on, and they kindly agreed to come out and turn the heat on for us as we took some engagement pictures on a chilly but bright and beautiful day a few weeks ago.

We had some gorgeous light and some really neat old wooden seating, and a couple in love. What more could I ask for? :-)

There was a little aqua/green painted room off to the side of the sanctuary area...

Karissa plugged in the organ and started playing!


Eric and Karissa: I am looking forward to your May 2 wedding...all the best to you in these final weeks of preparations!

Spring is on it's way...

...and I couldn't be more excited! Robins are hopping around and after a couple of days of rain I see hints of green trying to poke through the dead grass!

I can't imagine anything more fun and fitting to show you on the blog today than this sweet little girl that I got to photograph recently. Just six days old in these photographs...

So soft!

Daddy is in the greenhouse and landscaping business. Little Bailey fit perfectly into a hanging flower basket!

Family portrait

A little coccoon of sweet girliness...

To Justin and Angela: thanks for letting me come to your home and photograph your little miracle!

School days!

Yesterday I had the great fun (although I was nervous beforehand!) of talking to the eighth grade art classes at OCCS about photography. It was so much fun to see them absorb the information and then go and apply what they learned during the hands-on picture taking! This is the second section...ran out of time the first session for a group shot.

If there is any OCCS eighth grader who stumbles across my blog, I will award a bag of licorice to the first one who leaves a comment on this blog post that contains all of the seven "rules for taking good pictures" we talked about!

Happy Monday morning to you!

I am thankful for a new week. I met with a few women for book discussion this morning, and through our study of a good book was encouraged to start off the new week trying with God's help to be more gracious, selfless, faithful and patient. Sometimes it's easy to get discouraged by the long ways I have to go. I'm so thankful for the patience shown to me in this regard.... :-)

I am excited to share a few favorites from a recent engagement session with you this morning.

Emily and Benj were in town visiting from the Twin Cities area of MN, and wanted to get some engagement portraits made. While it was a pretty nice day with no wind, it was still only 26 degrees outside so we started off inside for a few.




I went to Benj and Emily's mywedding.com website, and noticed that they are requesting no gifts for their wedding, but only donations to Heifer International. Love that idea.

We did brave the elements for a few minutes to get some outside shots.

Benj proposed to Emily in a barn at an apple orchard...not THIS barn, but still a fun photo op!

Benj and Emily-thanks for the fun shoot...I look forward to your wedding in a couple of months!

Congratulations...

...to Joe and Gina from Joe's Appliance in Orange City as they have recently moved into their new building! If you are in Northwest Iowa and in need of a TV, washer dryer, fridge, stove, or any appliance, be sure to check them out. I am excited for this new chapter in your business and wish you all the best!

What would we do in a world...

...without music?

This is Clayton. He plays electric guitar...

...and string bass.

Hope you enjoy my favorites from this session with this cool 8th grader!




The first person who leaves a comment on this blog post will receive a $15 gift card to iTunes. in addition to your comment, please email me at info @ vanessabartelsphoto . com with your mailing address!

Tim and Sara's family...

...has been celebrating their new arrival!

Here is a close up look at sweet little Sarae! (Pronounced saRAY)

Her siblings can't get enough of her!

Big brother Zach...

Big brother Reese...

...and big sister BreElle. LOVE all of those brown eyes...mmmm!

Two sisters....BreElle is SUCH a little Mommy to her baby sister!

The brothers....doing what brothers do!

The happy family!